Moscow is the capital of Russia, its political, economic, commercial and
cultural centre. It was founded 8 centuries ago by Prince Yuri
Dolgoruky. Historians have accepted the year of 1147 as the start of
Moscow’s history. Gradually the city became more and more powerful. In
the 13th
century Moscow was a centre of the struggle of Russian lands for the
liberation from the tartar yoke. In the 16th
century under Ivan the Terrible Moscow became the capital of the new
united state. Though Peter the Great moved the capital to St Petersburg
in 1712, Moscow remained the heart of Russia. That is why it became the
main target of Napoleon’s attack. Three-quarters of the city was
destroyed by fire during Napoleon’s occupation, but by the mid-19th
century Moscow had been completely restored. After the October
revolution Moscow became the capital again.
Now Moscow is one of the largest cities in Europe. Its total area is
about nine hundred square kilometers (ancient Moscow occupied the
territory of the present-day Kremlin). The population of the city is
over 9 million.
Moscow is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. The heart of
Moscow is Red Square. It has more historic associations than any other
place in Moscow. The Kremlin and St Basil’s Cathedral (Vasily Blazheny)
are masterpieces of ancient Russian architecture. The main Kremlin
tower, the Spasskaya Tower, has become the symbol of the country. On the
territory of Kremlin you can see old cathedrals, the Bell Tower of Ivan
the Great, the Tzar-Cannon and the Tzar-Bell, the biggest cannon and
bell in the world. St Basil’s Cathedral was built in the mid-16th
century in memory of victory over Kazan. There’s a legend that Ivan the
Terrible blinded the architects Barma and Postnik, because he didn’t
want them to create another masterpiece.
There are a lot of beautiful palaces, old mansions, cathedrals, churches
and monuments in Moscow. Now Moscow is being reconstructed and we all
hope in a few years the city will become even more beautiful.
Three are more than 100 museums in Moscow. The largest museums are the
Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts and the State Tretyakov Gallery. Other
unique museums in Moscow include the All-Russia Museum of Folk Arts, the
Andrei Rublev Museum of Early Russian art, Alexei Bakhrushin Theatre
Museum, Mikhail Glinka Museum of Musical Culture and many others.
Moscow is famous for its theatres. The best-known of them is the Bolshoi
Opera House. Drama theatres and studious are also very popular.
| 
